


One Last Time

by CaptainWeasley



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: #don't worry I won't break up Rose and Ten-Too for this, #major character death but in a good way, F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-08
Updated: 2017-09-08
Packaged: 2018-12-25 07:36:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12031200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainWeasley/pseuds/CaptainWeasley
Summary: "Hello, Doctor," said the old woman, and that voice sounded eerily familiar, too."No," the Doctor said, flabbergasted. "It can't be."The woman smiled, and all doubt left the Doctor’s mind."It's me," Rose said. "Sorry for not calling ahead."





	One Last Time

**Author's Note:**

> When I saw Billie's tweet I screamed a little, then I did a bit of a victory dance, then I screamed some more... And then I thought, this calls for fanfiction. Enjoy!

The Doctor turned around a corner, running as always, and crashed right into an old lady. 

"Dear me, I am so sorry," she said, helping the woman up. "Are you all right?" 

There was something strange about that woman, the Doctor noticed at once, but she couldn't quite place it. Then she remembered that she was supposed to be running away. 

"Come on, it's not safe around here," she said, taking the lady's hand and leading her in the direction of the TARDIS. 

The woman was surprisingly nimble for her age, and kept up fairly well. 

"That was close," the Doctor said, grinning, after the TARDIS doors were safely shut behind them. Wasn't it always close? "Welcome to the TARDIS." 

The Doctor made a grand gesture, but out of all the reactions she had anticipated, none came. The mysterious woman wasn't amazed or frightened or shocked, instead she looked around wistfully, stroking one of the struts gently. The Doctor took a closer look. There was something so familiar about her... 

"Hello, Doctor," said the woman, and that voice sounded eerily familiar, too. 

"No," the Doctor said, flabbergasted. "It can't be." 

The woman smiled, and all doubt left the Doctor’s mind. 

"It's me," Rose said. "Sorry for not calling ahead." 

The Doctor stared at her, mouth open. 

"But, how... what... The walls were sealed, you shouldn't be here. You _can't_ be here." 

Rose was still smiling. 

"Don't worry, the universe is not in danger this time. You know me, I have a way of finding you when I want to." 

The Doctor supposed that would have to do for the moment. After all, there was still a threat out there. She went to look for the Yolian Disc, she had put it here somewhere... 

"Make yourself comfortable," she told Rose, "I'm a bit busy at the moment." 

Out of the corner of her eye she could see Rose shaking her head. 

"I see you're still underestimating me. I was a Torchwood field agent for almost 30 years, you know. And after that I was one of the top alien consultants in the world for another 20. I could help you, if you asked." 

The Doctor stopped to look at her. She might be an old woman, but she still had that same spirit she'd had as a teenage girl. 

"You up for a bit of running?" 

Rose smiled. 

"Oh yes." 

*** 

A few hours later, the Doctor and Rose were sitting on the brink of the ice falls of Eetory. The Doctor was sure that no danger awaited them here, and she had to ask Rose a few questions before doing anything else. She wasn't wholly convinced that the universe wasn't in danger. 

"So, how did you find me?" 

"Oh, that was easy. This wasn’t my first time crossing between dimensions, after all." 

"But that should be impossible." 

Rose smiled. 

"Not really. We’ve had the dimension jumping technology for decades, and ten years ago there was a scientific breakthrough in quantum physics. The walls of the universes aren’t closed on the subatomic level, it turned out." 

"But that’s incredibly dangerous! Ripping holes in the fabric of space-time, you know what came through the breach the last time someone did that." 

"Oh no, that’s the beauty of it. Our technology doesn’t affect the atomic level at all." 

The Doctor knew that she would have to check if that was true as soon as she got back to the TARDIS. 

"So there’s going to be thousands of people from your Earth jumping between dimensions for fun? That _is_ going to rip holes in the fabric of space-time, trust me." 

The Doctor couldn’t believe Rose had let something like this happen. Rose knew better than anyone how dangerous travel between dimensions was. 

"No, the others won’t be able to. It only works if you’ve been to another universe before." 

The Doctor exhaled slowly in relief. She hoped that "the others", whoever they were, wouldn’t keep at it until they, too, found a way to endanger the multiverse. 

The two of them sat in silence for a few minutes, looking at the ice falls. The Doctor had so many questions that she hardly knew where to start. 

"If you came back here," the Doctor said finally, knowing she needed the answer to this question first, "does that mean things didn't work out with the other me?" 

Rose laughed at the notion, a quiet laugh that was both different from and similar to the laugh the Doctor remembered. 

"No, things worked out for us. I had a wonderful life with my Doctor, fifty-seven years we were together. Wasn't always easy, but we stuck with each other, made it work. He died two years ago, holding my hand." 

The Doctor wasn't sure what to say to that. 

"Oh. And then you came back here?" 

Rose nodded. 

"We always knew one of us would die first, and my Doctor said that in case it was him, I shouldn't waste my time mourning him, and find you." Rose smiled again. "I did waste a bit of time, mourning. Couldn't help it. But that was just the initial shock. I'm not sad that he’s gone, I'm happy that I had as much time with my Doctor as I did. More than fifty years, imagine that." 

The Doctor tried to, but she had never been able to keep anyone around for fifty years straight. The other Doctor must have been a bit different from her, after all. 

"And now you want to travel with me again?" 

Rose looked amused, like the Doctor had said something particularly daft. 

"No. I want to say goodbye to you. A proper goodbye this time. You didn't give me one last time." 

She looked at the Doctor pointedly, but not like she was angry or disappointed, more like she was stating a simple fact. The Doctor supposed she was right. She had been far too heartbroken back then to be able to say a final goodbye to Rose. Things did have a way of coming back to bite her, it seemed. Not that she was necessarily unhappy to see Rose. Rose, contented and happy, completely at peace with herself and her life, it was everything the Doctor had ever wished for her. Even if she hadn't been part of that life, at least not this version of her. 

"You want me to say goodbye right now?" 

"Only if you want to." Rose checked her wristwatch. "I think I can stay and talk for a while." 

The way Rose said it gave the Doctor pause. 

"You think? But you don't know for sure?" 

Rose laughed again. 

"Doctor, I'm dying. I don't think I have more than an hour left." 

The Doctor stared at her, horrified. This was the one thing she'd always told herself was good about losing Rose: that she would never have to watch Rose die. Apparently, Rose had other plans. 

"How are all the others? Jack and Donna and Martha? And Mickey?" 

The Doctor was glad Rose had changed the subject. 

"Donna died surrounded by her family a few years ago, if you go by linear time. I think she had a good life. Bought her a lottery ticket for her wedding, you know. Martha and Mickey were both killed in action, died saving the world. When I realised what had happened, their deaths had already become fixed points in time. Couldn’t save them. They had two children, Sarah Jane took them in." 

The Doctor paused to swallow down her guilt about Martha’s death. She should have been there to help her. 

"Jack is still alive, of course. Still on Earth, in Denmark, I think." 

"And you never travelled with any of them again?" 

"No." 

"But you've had other companions, yeah? People to hold your hand?" 

The Doctor looked at her, remembering all the reasons why she had fallen in love with Rose Tyler. 

"There've been a few. But none like you." 

Rose smiled, blushing slightly. 

"That might be a bit unhealthy, pining after me for so many years." 

"Over a thousand years, I should think." 

That statement did shock Rose for a moment. 

"And here I was, thinking I'd reduced the age gap a bit..." Rose laughed again. "Oh, it's always the same with you." 

"Well, I did get married," the Doctor clarified. "But not to one of my companions." 

"Oh, good for you," Rose said, visibly happy. "Do I know her? Him?" 

"Not personally. I only met her the once before I saw you for the last time. Your Doctor might have told you about her, her name’s River Song." 

"Ah, that explains it." 

"Explains what?" 

Rose smiled at her. 

"Well, my Doctor could never really understand why that woman knew his name. I think that was one of the things that bothered him the most, not knowing how that happened and unable to find out." 

"I told her my name the day I married her." 

Rose laughed. 

"Same as my Doctor, then." 

The Doctor didn’t know why she was so surprised. Of course the other Doctor had told Rose his name. 

"Wait, if you got married… Are you still Rose Tyler?" 

"Of course I am. My Doctor insisted on it, really, me keeping my name. He loved that name. And I loved hearing him say it." 

The Doctor smiled. 

"Rose Tyler." 

Rose looked at her strangely. 

"It sounds so different when you say it. But not in a bad way." 

"New regeneration, you know how it is." 

"Oh, I do. How many faces have you had since I last saw you?" 

"This is the third. It’s my first time being a woman, though, still getting used to that." 

Rose laughed. 

"That bad?" 

"It’s not the body. Love this body, me. It’s the way people see me now. Travelling to the Middle Ages used to be a lot more fun." 

"I can imagine." 

The Doctor gave Rose a look. 

"Didn’t you miss it, travelling?" 

"Not as much as I thought I’d miss it. At first there was so much to do at Torchwood, and then we had our hands full with the kids… I was actually glad when I retired from active field duty and had a few years of peace and quiet. And you know, I had something much better than travelling. I had my Doctor." 

"Didn’t he miss it?" 

The Doctor couldn’t imagine a life without the TARDIS, without the adventures, without the running. 

"Bit more than me, I think. But never enough to regret staying with me." 

The Doctor nodded. 

"Good. He’d have been a fool if he hadn’t appreciated the life he’d been given." 

Rose smiled. 

"Don’t worry," she said, "he was happy. And so was I." 

The Doctor suddenly realised what Rose’s earlier statement implied. 

"And you had children? Together?" 

"Four beautiful children. One didn’t make it past the first few days, but the other three grew up to become wonderful people. I do wish I could see them all again, one last time, but I made my choice." 

"To spend your final hours with me?" 

"To spend my final hours with you." 

The Doctor knew she would never be able to believe just how much Rose loved her. It surprised her every time, even a thousand years later. Especially a thousand years later. 

The Doctor tucked a stray strand of hair behind Rose’s ear. Rose might look old, but compared to her, she was still so very young. 

"Would you mind terribly if I kissed you? Or is that disrespectful to your Doctor’s memory?"

Rose smiled. 

"I don’t need two hearts to be able to love two people," she said quietly. "My Doctor always knew that." 

"Good." 

The Doctor leaned over to kiss Rose, a slow, lingering kiss, a last kiss. 

When they let go of each other, Rose was smiling. 

"I think I’m ready now." 

The Doctor didn’t have to ask what she meant. Rose lay down next to her, taking in a last look of their gorgeous surroundings before looking at the Doctor again. 

"Will you hold my hand?" 

"Yes." 

"You gave me a wonderful life. A fantastic life. Thank you." 

"Rose Tyler," the Doctor said, knowing this was truly her last chance to say it. "I love you." 

"Quite right, too. And I love you. Never stopped loving you for a single day." 

She smiled. 

"Goodbye, Doctor." 

The Doctor kissed Rose's forehead gently. 

"Goodbye, Rose Tyler." 

Rose closed her eyes, still smiling. 

The Doctor held her hand until it went cold.


End file.
